Fiction Costuming Books

The Benjamin January series by Barbara Hambly
The first book is "A Free Man of Color". Set in early 19th Century New Orleans - a somewhat lesser-known time period. They're historical mysteries, and the slave/master/Creole/free colored culture is fascinating. As Ms. Hambly is/was a costumer, the clothing descriptions are pretty good. Recommended by Sandy Pettinger.

Banners of Silk by Rosalind Laker
Technically a historical romance, there is enough French and English history injected of the era of Louis-Napoleon and the earlier days of Charles Worth to make it interesting to historical readers, and enough insight to the workings of early fashion houses to make it interesting to costuming folk. Louise Vernet, talented as a seamstress as a child, quite a brilliant designer as a young woman, lives, loves and sews in the era of 1843 and onward..... Recommended by JoAnne (?) and Sharon Trembley.

To Dance with Kings and The Golden Tulip by Rosalind Laker
There is a romance factor, but if I recall correctly, Laker is not graphically descriptive (as opposed to other romances). Laker uses all different time periods - so read book descriptions to see which appeal most. Recommended by Sharon Trembley.

Desiree by Annemarie Selinko.
I read it in junior high, and it's one reason I got a degree in history, and developed an interest in costuming. There's an excellent website at: http://www.nebula5.org/clary/book.html Recommended by Julie Zetterberg Sardo

Captain From Castile by Shellaberger (first name forgotten)
I read this in high school for a Spanish Class assignment, wherein we had to read a book by a Spanish author or about Spain. I loved the movie with Tyrone Power and I was delighted to discover the school library carried it. My delight was deminished when I saw it was 500 pages long, but I'd already told the teacher I was doing a report on it. What a ripping read!!! It was so good I got through it in no time. The following year, I read it again for my own pleasure. Recommended by Toni Lay.

Shogun by James Clavell.
Roots by Alex Haley.
Both of these are long books, and focus on people in a culture or from a viewpoint with which most main stream culture teenagers (or adults, for that matter of fact) are not familiar. Recommended by Dana MacDermott.

Crawford of Lymond series and the House of Niccolo series by Dorothy Dunnett
I have always maintained that if I had to pack one suitcase only of my belongings never to see the rest, those books would go in there. Costumes, romance, suspense, and education (she frequently has quotes in other languages that she doesn't translate - you have to figure it out for yourself). From the court of the 4-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, to France, Constantinople, Ivan the Terrible's Russia and Knights of Malta - and that's just in one series. Dunnett was a historian and a painter and has wonderful descriptions. Recommended by Trudy Leondard.

The Wives of Henry the Eighth and The Journey: the Life of Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser
Both are written in such a way that you almost feel you are present in their lives, the historical interest is unparalleled. Of course, they are both from fantastic costume periods as well. Recommended by Lisa A. Ashton.

Barrayar series by Lois McMaster Bujold
Start with Cordelia's Honor and go from there. Very interesting costume ideas. Cordelia's Honor is actually a collection of the two novels, "Shards of Honor" and "Barrayar," along with the short story "Aftermaths. Recommended by Genie (?) and Randall White.

Saint-Germain vampire series by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.
Her history is pretty well researched, and the prefaces tell you where she made changes for narrative necessity. There's several rather obscure areas/times she covers. She almost always describes what he and others are wearing. The three "Olivia" books are related and good also. Recommended by Sandy Pettinger.

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